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Federal settlement requires advance notice before any Newport ICE facility permitting
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has agreed to give Newport officials at least 30 days’ notice before environmental permitting begins for a possible ICE detention center. The agreement runs through Aug. 1, 2027, and says ICE has no plans to expand or create detention or processing facilities in Oregon.
Federal immigration authorities have no plans to build a detention center in Newport, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security must give city officials at least 30 days’ notice before starting environmental permitting for any such project through Aug. 1, 2027.
The terms are part of a settlement between the department and the Oregon Department of Justice, filed Friday in federal court in Eugene. Oregon agreed to drop its lawsuit after the federal government committed to advance notice if plans for a detention center in the Newport area resume.
The dispute began after concerns emerged last fall that federal officials were looking for a long-term immigration holding facility on the Oregon Coast, including at the U.S. Coast Guard site at Newport’s municipal airport. City leaders and residents objected, as did state Democratic leaders.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said the settlement requires federal officials to follow the law. His office had argued that the government was attempting to move ahead at the airport site without advance notice to state and local officials, potentially sidestepping federal environmental and coastal land-use requirements.
The lawsuit also followed the temporary removal of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter from Newport. Rayfield previously sued over the helicopter’s removal and obtained a court order requiring it to return.
The 30-day notice requirement applies to Newport, not other Oregon cities. The settlement separately states that ICE is not planning to expand or create detention facilities or processing centers anywhere in the state.